RAW: ‘Rowdy v. Riott: Dawn of Super Show-Down’

LaToya Ferguson
Ronda Rousey, Ruby Riott (source: WWE)

What’s that saying about being careful what you wish for? Because it’s probably something Ruby Riott should have thought about before this week’s Monday Night RAW

Ronda Rousey def. Ruby Riott

The Bella Twins accompany the RAW Women’s Champion out to the ring, showing their continued solidarity heading into Super Show-Down. Meanwhile, The Riott Squad are looking to show off a couple of things: Liv Morgan’s new pink hair, for one, but also the fact that Ruby Riott thinks it would be “truly beautiful” to give Ronda Rousey her first loss in WWE.

Supposedly, Ruby and her Squad were into the idea of Rousey’s existence in WWE at first… until Rousey started to go for the approval of people like Natalya, the Bellas, and (even worse) the WWE Universe. That’s pretty much the antithesis of The Riott Squad’s worldview—which is to “treat the whole world as your enemy”—so they want to know if there’s even “any fight left” in Rousey.

What a question, right?

Now for the match itself.

Rousey starts things off dominantly with some tosses—proving she’s plenty of fight left in her—so Ruby quickly goes to the outside to regroup with her Squad. She eventually goes back into the ring, only to go back out, and she’s clearly been watching her match tape, because this is where Rousey’s rookie status comes in: Eventually, Ruby is able to strike when Rousey finally comes after her, and she’s able to ram Rousey into the corner post and then the barricade.

Ruby Riott also knows just how big of a deal a win against Ronda Rousey would be—even if it’s not the championship open challenge that Rousey had planned for two weeks ago—so she’s definitely not pulling any punches. Ruby takes the fight to Rousey, making sure she stays on the champ. That’s smart veteran wrestling.

And then it’s just vicious, vindictive wrestling, especially once Ruby has her finger literally hooked in Rousey’s mouth. Even when she’s forced by the referee to detach, she makes sure to deliver one hell of a right forearm to Rousey.

Again, it’s an excellent strategy… until she begins to get cocky, lazily bringing the boots to Rousey’s face.

This cockiness-fueled laziness soon leads to Rousey catching Ruby mid-Riott Kick and just throwing her like a toy she doesn’t want anymore. THEN ROUSEY RIPS HER OWN “ROWDY!” SHIRT, and holy hell, playtime is over. This is why you don’t play with your food, y’all. Because Ruby gets back everything she gave to Rousey, in the form of some vicious uppercuts and a major gutwrench powerbomb (and you know, a loss). Then it’s just one more order of business—Rousey disposing of the peanut gallery on the outside (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan)—before she puts her opponent away for good with an armbar.

Ruby Riott probably should have just done the championship open challenge straight up, shouldn’t she? Because this is certainly not the outcome she or any member of The Riott Squad wanted going into Super Show-Down.

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